En Route Air Traffic Controllers\u2019 Use of Flight Progress Strips: A Graph-Theoretic Analysis

Civil Aerospace Medical Institute1992PDFTech ReportVortac, O.U.Edwards, Mark B.Jones, Judi P.Manning, Carol A.Rotter, A.J.Civil Aeromedical InstituteUniversity of Oklahoma. Dept. of PsychologyUnited States. Office of Aviation MedicineCivil Aerospace Medical InstituteUnited StatesAir traffic controllersEnroute traffic controlAutomationCommunication systemsPerformance testsTheoretical studiesAir traffic controllersAir traffic control--AutomationGovernment communication systemsPerformance--TestingDOT/FAA/AM-92/31In the United States, flight data are represented on a paper Flight Progress Strip (FPS). The role of the FPS has recently attracted attention because of plans to automate this aspect of air traffic control. The communication activities and FPS activities of air traffic controllers were categorized while they controlled air traffic of varying complexity. Transition networks were derived from the empirical transitions. These networks indicated that several aspects of air traffic control generalize across complexity, including the centrality of writing-on-the-FPSs to the control of traffic. Complexity was a factor when FPSs were used with high complexity traffic situations, requiring the controller to direct uninterrupted periods of time to the management of the FPSs rather than integrating these board management responsibilities with the responsibilities of separating aircraft.119